Pages

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

ITU Sarasota

I was really excited coming into the race this weekend
because I felt like I would have a much better day than last weekend in
Clermont. I hadn’t been able to ride my bike outside for about 3 months due to
the rough State College winter, and my first day outside was just two days
before the race in Clermont. This week, I had a whole week out in the sun
training to hopefully transfer my great fitness into a great race performance.

To begin the race, I ended up with a pretty decent start
position just three positions from the end. I was hoping that would help me
avoid the in-water melee that is an ITU swim start. This turned out to be true,
as I wasn’t touched until the first turn buoy about 200 meters out. I also was
starting on the left side, which meant that I would have inside position at
each turn. Positioning is so critical in these races, so I knew I was in a
decent position. I was swimming with a large pack and just held strong for the
rest of the swim.

T1 went very smooth
for me and I was able to get out and start hitting it hard to bridge up as far
as I could. A large group of us formed, and we could see two groups ahead being
led by the lead motorcycle. It’s always a good sign when you can see the
leaders. It means that you aren’t far behind, and it helps keep the group
motivated because they can see what they are chasing after. On the second lap,
I just barely avoided a pretty nasty crash. I couldn’t see what happened, but I
just saw some bikes flying into the air and guys swinging across the road
taking out some more. I swung way out and into the grass and barely got around
just in time to surge back up to the group. With about a half of a lap left, we
caught the lead group and the front of the race became about 25 strong.
Finally, I’d be able to start the run in the hunt.

It was a mad house
coming into T2 with so many people. I always try to hurry but be smooth. I got
out and started to get ahead of the pack and into my stride. The first lap of
the run I really wasn’t feeling the best. I was running around 10th
for a while, but near the end of the first lap, my legs started to come around.
I caught a group and moved by into about 5th position. I could see
the podium not that far ahead and tried to stay patient. By the turnaround on
the second loop I had moved into 4th and was just a couple strides
behind 3rd. I’m not the kind of guy to let things come down to a
200m sprint, so with about 1k left I started to surge as hard as I could. I got
around into 3rd and kept giving everything I had all the way to the
line. Crossing that line in a podium position was an incredible feeling. It was
a step forward for me that I felt I could always see but never seemed to happen
for me. It really shows what all the hard work can do.

After the race, my body definitely let me know that the State College winter had not acclimated me to the hot and humid Florida weather. I was in full heat exhaustion mode with plenty of dizziness, lightheadedness, confusion, and eventually, some nasty vomiting. It took me about a half hour of being covered in ice to get my body temperature back down and start feeling better.

After feeling better, I experienced my first real medal ceremony which felt pretty amazing. I always watched them and felt like I should be up there. Now, I was actually up there for the first time. It is a really hard feeling to describe, but it is such a sense of accomplishment. I know how hard all of my competitors work, so to have everything come together and have a performance like that means a lot. It is a huge step forward for me, and hopefully just one of many.

Looking ahead, I
can’t wait for what is next. I have collegiate nats coming up on April 24th and 25th, and then I graduate this May and will be moving out to
Boulder, CO to work with the Apex group led by Neal Henderson and Grant
Holicky. It has been great working with them so far this season, and I look
forward to being out there. I think this season will be a big one for me. It is
only March and I feel like I’m nowhere close to where I will be come August and
late this season. Hopefully it will be filled with some more champagne showers,
because I’m not sure if there’s anything that tastes better than that.